JP5108615B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector in which a terminal of a connector is brought into contact with an electrode of the wiring board with a required pressure by a cam after a flexible wiring board is inserted.

Flexible printed circuit boards such as FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) and FFC (Flexible Flat Cable), due to their flexibility, the wiring board does not bend when this tip is inserted into the connector and the two are electrically connected. Thus, it is necessary to make the insertion force into the connector substantially zero. In this regard, in the FPC connector described in Patent Document 1 below, after inserting the FPC into the connector, the cam is rotated by an actuator (lever) and the terminal of the connector is brought into pressure contact with the electrode of the FPC by the cam. I am doing so. That is, when the FPC is inserted, the FPC and the terminal do not come into contact with each other but are brought into contact with each other by pushing down the terminal by rotating the cam. Thereby, since FPC and a terminal do not contact at the time of FPC insertion, FPC insertion force becomes zero. Specifically, in Patent Document 1, the FPC connector includes a holding and fixing portion and a terminal in which an upper beam, a middle beam, and a lower beam extending in one direction in a three-stage beam shape are integrally formed. An FPC is inserted between the middle beam and the lower beam, and a cam having an elliptical cross section is disposed between the upper beam and the middle beam. Then, the cam is rotated by the actuator, and the middle beam is pushed in the direction of the lower beam by the cam. As a result, the contact portion formed at the tip of the middle beam is in pressure contact with the electrode formed on the FPC.
JP 2002-93504 A

  By the way, by arranging two types of terminals in which the positions of the contact portions of the middle beam are separated from each other in the front-rear direction, the positions where the contact portions of both types of terminals come into contact with the FPC can be arranged in a staggered manner. By doing so, it is possible to increase the utilization efficiency of the FPC surface and to reduce the size of the connector.

  However, in the FPC connector described in Patent Document 1, a contact portion is formed at the distal end of the middle beam, and the cam is disposed closer to the proximal end than the contact portion. With this configuration alone, in order to arrange the contact position between the contact portion of the middle beam and the FPC in a staggered manner, the middle beam has to be extended in order to change the contact position of one type of terminal. There is a problem that this leads to an increase in size.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, The objective is to provide the connector which can change a contact position with a wiring board, without enlarging a connector.

  In order to solve the above problems, a connector according to the present invention is located between a terminal integrally including an upper beam, a middle beam, and a lower beam extending in three stages from a common base, and between the upper beam and the middle beam. A cam that is rotatably provided between a pressing position that presses the middle beam to the lower beam side and pushes the space between the upper beam and the middle beam and a release position that releases the pressing. In the middle beam, a contact portion that comes into contact with an electrode formed on the upper surface of the wiring board disposed between the middle beam and the lower beam is located closer to the proximal side than the pressing position of the cam. It is formed. According to the present invention, the contact portion of the intermediate beam is formed on the base end side with respect to the pressing position of the cam, so that the contact position with the wiring board can be easily provided on the common base side. As a result, the contact position with the wiring board can be changed without increasing the size of the connector.

Further, in this onset bright, the middle beam, the tip portion is folded back proximally located to the upper beam side, the cam, the lower beam of the folded end portion of the middle beam Press to the side. According to this aspect, even if the folded back end portion is pressed to the lower beam side, the bent portion of the middle beam is unlikely to fall to the lower beam side. For this reason, even when the cam is moved to the pressing position and the middle beam is pressed toward the lower beam, it is possible to prevent a portion other than the contact portion of the middle beam from contacting the upper surface of the wiring board.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the middle stage beam is formed with a middle stage movement restricting portion that regulates movement of the cam between the upper stage beam and the middle stage beam. In this way, the cam can be prevented from falling off. In this case, the middle stage movement restricting portion may include a portion that narrows the distance between the middle stage beam and the upper stage beam to be smaller than the minimum diameter of the cam at a position farther from the base end of the middle stage beam than the cam. In this way, the cam can be prevented from falling off due to the narrowed portion.

  In the aspect of the invention, the upper stage beam may be formed with an upper stage movement restricting portion that regulates movement of the cam between the upper stage beam and the middle stage beam. Even in this case, the cam can be prevented from falling off.

  Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the terminal further includes another terminal integrally including an upper beam, a middle beam, and a lower beam extending in three stages from a common base, and the cam includes the upper beam and the other beam of the other terminal. It is also located between the middle beams, and in the pressing position, the space between the upper beam and the middle beam of the other terminal is expanded to press the middle beam to the lower beam side of the other terminal, The intermediate beam of the other terminal has a contact portion in contact with another electrode formed on the upper surface of the wiring board disposed between the middle beam and the lower beam of the other terminal. It is formed on the tip side of the pressing position. If it carries out like this, a contact position with a wiring board can further be provided in the front end side rather than the press position of a cam, and it can arrange | position on a staggered pattern.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 is an external perspective view of the connector 10 in a state where the actuator 14 according to the embodiment of the present invention is in the release position, and FIG. 2 is a view of the connector 10 in a state where the actuator 14 is in the release position at the position of the first terminal 18. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the connector 10 with the wiring board 24 inserted and the actuator 14 in the pressed position, cut at the position of the first terminal 18. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the connector 10 with the actuator 14 in the release position, cut at the position of the second terminal 20, and FIG. 5 shows the wiring board 24 inserted and the actuator 14 in the pressing position. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the connector 10 in a certain state cut at the position of the second terminal 20. Further, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the connector 10 cut at the position of the support fitting 16.

  As shown in these drawings, the connector 10 has a substantially box-shaped casing 12 molded of an insulating resin material. Inside the casing 12, a flat conductive thin metal plate is provided. A plurality of first terminals 18 and a plurality of second terminals 20 that are formed by punching in a three-pronged shape are accommodated, and they are arranged in parallel and alternately with each other at a predetermined interval. A wiring board insertion port 22 is located on the front surface of the housing 12, and a wiring board 24 is inserted there. The wiring board 24 is a flexible flat wiring member having an electrode group formed in a staggered pattern on the upper surface end, such as FPC and FFC. The wiring board 24 faces the wiring board insertion port 22 so that the electrode group faces upward. Inserted.

  The actuator 14 is a horizontally long plate-like member molded separately from the casing 12 by an insulating resin material, and is provided so as to extend to the left and right on the upper front side of the connector 10. The actuator 14 is formed with comb-like slits 14a and 14b along one long side thereof, and the tips of the slits 14a and 14b are connected to each other by a cam 14c having a non-circular cross section. The other long side is an operation unit 14d for the user to turn the actuator 14 with a finger. In this connector 10, the wiring board 24 is inserted into the wiring insertion opening 22, and the user turns the actuator 14 with the operation portion 14 d to release the upright standing as shown in FIGS. The contact portions 18e and 20e of the first and second terminals 18 and 20 are moved from the position to the pressing position that is shown in FIGS. Can be brought into pressure contact with the corresponding electrode formed on the wiring board 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first terminal 18 has a common base 18 k that is fixed to the rear portion in the housing 12 and extends in the vertical direction, and extends from the common base 18 k to the front in a cantilevered manner. An upper beam 18c, a middle beam 18b, and a lower beam 18a arranged in a step are formed. The first terminal 18 is inserted from the front of the housing 12 into the interior, and the claw portion 18j formed on the upper edge of the common base 18k is prevented from coming off by biting into the inner wall of the housing 12. In the housing 12, the middle beam 18 b is elastically deformed downward and the upper beam 18 c is elastically deformed toward the slit 12 a formed on the upper surface of the housing 12 as the cam 14 c rotates. It has become.

  A substrate connecting portion 18d extending downward from the front of the housing 12 is formed at the tip of the lower beam 18a. The substrate connecting portion 18d is one of a group of electrodes arranged in a staggered pattern on the upper surface of a circuit board (not shown). Soldered to one. The end of the wiring board 24 inserted from the wiring board insertion port 22 is positioned between the lower beam 18a and the middle beam 18b. A contact portion 18e protruding downward is formed in the middle portion of the middle beam 18b. As shown in FIG. 3, the actuator 14, that is, the cam 14c moves to the pressing position, and the middle beam 18b is pushed downward. In this case, the contact portion 18e comes into pressure contact with the corresponding electrode formed on the upper surface of the wiring board 24. The front end 18g of the middle beam 18b is folded upward (upper beam 18c side) and extends toward the common base 18k. Accordingly, a bent portion 18i that bends at about 180 degrees is located at the forefront of the middle beam 18b.

  The cross section of the cam 14c formed in the actuator 14 has a flat shape in which the thickness direction of the actuator 14 is the longitudinal direction and the width direction is the short direction. The tip of the upper beam 18c is located in the slit 14a, and the tip of the upper beam 18c is located above the cam 14c. Further, the end 18g of the middle beam 18b is positioned below the cam 14c. When the actuator 14 is raised and the cam 14c is set to the release position, the upper beam 18c and the middle beam 18b are in a natural shape, and when the actuator 14 is laid and the cam 14c is set to the pressing position, the upper beam 18c and The middle beam 18b is elastically deformed to increase the distance between them.

  The upper beam 18c is provided with a movement restricting portion 18h that is a depression formed in the lower edge of the tip portion. The upper part of the cam 14c is located in the movement restricting portion 18h, and thereby the movement of the cam 14c, that is, the actuator 14 in the front-rear direction is restricted. In addition, the distal end portion 18g of the intermediate beam 18b is also provided with a movement restricting portion 18f that restricts the movement of the cam 14c, that is, the actuator 14 forward, at a position far from the base end of the cam 14c, that is, the base end of the intermediate beam 18b. Is formed. Specifically, the middle beam 18b is folded upward at the bent portion 18i, and the folded portion extends at a substantially constant interval with respect to a portion closer to the base end side than the bent portion 18i. 18m and the 2nd extending | stretching part 18n extended at intervals shorter than it are included, and it continues to the bending part 18i in this order. The movement restricting portion 18f described above is a step formed at a connection portion between the first extending portion 18m and the second extending portion 18n. The distance between the first extending portion 18m and the tip of the upper beam 18c is shorter (narrower) than the length of the cross section of the cam 14c in the short direction (minimum diameter of the cam 14c). It does not easily fall off between the beam 18c and the middle beam 18b. The upper and lower sides of the cam 14c at the release position are sandwiched between the movement restricting portion 18h and the second extending portion 18n. The distance between the movement restricting portion 18h and the second extending portion 18n in the natural state is substantially equal to the length of the cross section of the cam 14c in the short direction, so that the actuator 14 can be moved as long as the upper beam 18c and the middle beam 18b are not bent. Can't defeat. Thus, the cam 14c is stabilized at the release position.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the second terminal 20 is also fixed to the rear portion in the housing 12 and extends in the vertical direction from the common base portion 20k, and extends from the common base portion 20k to the front in a cantilever manner. An upper beam 20c, a middle beam 20b, and a lower beam 20a arranged in a step are formed. The second terminal 20 is inserted from the rear of the housing 12 into the interior, and the claw portion 20j formed on the lower edge of the proximal end portion of the middle beam 20b is bitten into a part of the housing 12 to prevent it from coming off. In the housing 12, the middle beam 20b is elastically deformed downward and the upper beam 20c is elastically deformed upward in accordance with the rotation of the cam 14c.

  A board connecting part 20d extending downward from the rear of the housing 12 is formed at the lower edge of the common base part 20k. The board connecting part 20d is soldered to one of the electrode groups arranged on the upper surface of the circuit board (not shown). It is attached. As described above, the board connecting portion 18 d is provided on the front side of the housing 12, and the board connecting portion 20 d is provided on the rear side of the housing 12. For this reason, the electrode group connected to these is arrange | positioned on the upper surface of the circuit board in which the connector 10 is mounted in zigzag form.

  The cam 14c is located between the upper beam 20c and the middle beam 20b, and the upper beam 20c is located on the rear side of the cam 14c and is a movement restriction that restricts the movement of the cam 14c, that is, the actuator 14 to the rear. A portion 20g is formed. In addition, a pressed portion 20f is provided in the middle portion of the middle beam 20b to be pressed downward by contacting the side surface of the cam 14c. The pressed portion 20f is located above the other portion of the middle beam 20b and is connected to the distal end side and the proximal end side at both front and rear ends.

  The end of the wiring board 24 inserted from the wiring board insertion port 22 is positioned between the lower beam 20a and the middle beam 20b. A contact portion 20e that protrudes downward is formed at the tip of the middle beam 20b. As shown in FIG. 5, the actuator 14, that is, the cam 14c moves to the pressing position, and the middle beam 20b is pushed downward. Further, the contact portion 20 e is in pressure contact with the corresponding electrode formed on the upper surface of the wiring board 24. In addition, the contact part 18e is located behind the pressing position of the cam 14c, and the contact part 20e is located ahead of the pressing position of the cam 14c. For this reason, the contact portion 18e and the contact portion 20e are separated from each other in the front-rear direction, and the electrode groups on the upper surface of the wiring board 24 are arranged in a staggered manner.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the support bracket 16 formed by punching a thin metal plate is formed on the left side of the first terminal 18 located on the leftmost side and on the further right side of the first terminal 18 located on the rightmost side. Are arranged respectively. The support metal fitting 16 has a housing reinforcing portion 16c having a shape extending in one direction, and the housing reinforcing portion 16c is inserted into the housing 12 from the front to deform (crush) the housing 12. ) Is prevented. A claw portion 16b that protrudes upward is formed on the upper edge of the housing reinforcing portion 16c, and the claw portion 16b is prevented from coming off by biting into the inner wall of the housing 12. Further, a drop-off preventing portion 16a extending upward is formed on the base end side of the case reinforcing portion 16c, and the drop-off preventing portion 16a is positioned in front of the actuator 14 so that the actuator 14 drops off forward. Is blocking.

  According to this embodiment, the 1st terminal 18 and the 2nd terminal 20 are attached in the housing | casing 12, and the actuator 14 is attached after that. Specifically, the cam 14c laid sideways with the actuator 14 raised is located between the upper beam 18c and the middle beam 18b of the first terminal 18 and the second terminal 20 from the front side of the housing 12. Is pushed between the upper beam 20c and the middle beam 20b. At this time, the first extending portion 18m of the middle beam 18b of the first terminal 18 protrudes forward from the tip of the upper beam 18c, and the first extending portion 18m is pressed downward on the bottom surface of the cam 14c, thereby The middle beam 18b is bent downward, and the cam 14c is allowed to enter between the upper beam 18c and the middle beam 18b. That is, the first extending portion 18m functions to guide the cam 14c to slide between the upper beam 18c and the middle beam 18b. As the cam 14c enters, the tip of the upper beam 18c of the first terminal 18 enters the slit 14a, and the tip of the upper beam 20c of the second terminal 20 enters the slit 14b. When the cam 14c enters the second extending portion 18n of the middle beam 18b and the movement restricting portion 18h of the upper beam 18c to a position where the upper and lower sides are sandwiched, the middle beam 18b returns to the natural state, whereby the movement restricting portion 18f is moved to the cam 14c. It is located in front of and prevents its dropout. Thus, the actuator 14 is stably supported with the cam 14c lying on the side between the upper beam 18c and the middle beam 18b. As shown in FIG. 2, since there is a step between the first extending portion 18m and the second extending portion 18n, a click interval occurs when the cam moves from the first extending portion 18m to the second extending portion 18n. Therefore, the operator can recognize that the actuator has shifted to a state in which it is normally supported.

  In use, the wiring board 24 is inserted into the wiring insertion opening 22 and the actuator 14 is rotated from the release position where the actuator 14 is erected upward to the pressing position where the actuator 14 is tilted forward. The contact portions 18e and 20e of the terminals 18 and 20 can be brought into pressure contact with the corresponding electrodes formed on the wiring board 24, respectively.

  In the present embodiment, a contact portion 18e that comes into contact with one of the electrode groups formed on the upper surface of the wiring board 24 is formed on the middle beam 18b of the first terminal 18 on the proximal end side with respect to the pressing position of the cam 14c. ing. For this reason, it becomes easy to provide the contact part 18e in the back | inner side of the wiring board insertion port 22. FIG. Further, in the middle beam 20b of the second terminal 20, a contact portion 20e that comes into contact with one of the electrode groups formed on the upper surface of the wiring board 24 is formed on the tip side from the pressing position of the cam 14c. The plurality of first terminals 18 and the plurality of second terminals 20 are alternately arranged in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval. For this reason, the contact portions 18e and 20e are arranged in a staggered manner, and the electrode groups are also arranged in a staggered manner on the upper surface of the wiring board 24. Thus, the connector 10 can be miniaturized by effectively using the surface area of the wiring board 24.

  In the present embodiment, the distal end portion 18g of the middle beam 18b of the first terminal 18 is folded back to the proximal end side and is positioned on the upper beam 18c side. Then, the cam 14c presses the folded tip 18g downward. As shown in FIG. 3, when the cam 14c presses the tip 18g downward, the force shown by the arrow F acts on the foremost part of the middle beam 18b, and the bent part 18i located at the foremost part of the middle beam 18b. Is pulled toward the tip 18g. For this reason, even when the cam 14c moves to the pressing position and the middle beam 18b is elastically deformed downward, it is possible to prevent the bent portion 18i at the foremost portion from coming into contact with the upper surface of the wiring board 24.

  Further, a movement restricting portion 18f is formed on the middle beam 18b of the first terminal 18, and a movement restricting portion 18h is also formed on the upper beam 18c. Furthermore, a movement restricting portion 18h is also formed on the upper beam 20c of the second terminal 20, and the cam 14c is surrounded by these so as not to easily fall off. Further, the support bracket 16 is provided with the support bracket 16 on both the left and right sides of the arrangement of the first terminal 18 and the second terminal 20, and a drop-off prevention portion 16a formed on a part of the support bracket 16 is provided on the cam 14c. Positioned forward, the cam 14c is further prevented from falling off.

  Further, since there is a step between the first extending portion and the second extending portion, when the cam moves to the support position, a click feeling is generated, so that the operator can recognize that the cam has moved normally. .

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Of course, various deformation | transformation implementation is possible for those skilled in the art.

1 is an external perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the connector which shows the 1st terminal which has a cam in a release position. It is sectional drawing of the connector which shows the 1st terminal which has a cam in a press position. It is sectional drawing of the connector which shows the 2nd terminal in which a cam exists in a releasing position. It is sectional drawing of the connector which shows the 2nd terminal in which a cam exists in a press position. It is sectional drawing of the connector which shows a support metal fitting.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Connector, 12 Housing | casing, 12a Slit, 14 Actuator, 14a, 14b Slit, 14c Cam, 14d Operation part, 16 Support metal fitting, 16a Escape prevention part, 16b Claw part, 16c Case reinforcement part, 18 1st terminal, 18a 20a Lower beam, 18b, 20a Middle beam, 18c, 20c Upper beam, 18d, 20d Substrate connection part, 18e, 20e Wiring contact part, 18f, 18h, 20g Movement restriction part, 18i Bent part, 18g Tip part, 18j, 20j claw part, 18k, 20k common base, 18m first extending part, 18n second extending part, 20 second terminal, 20f pressed part, 22 wiring board insertion port, 24 wiring board.

Claims (5)

A terminal integrally including an upper beam, a middle beam, and a lower beam extending in three stages from a common base;
A pressing position that is positioned between the upper beam and the middle beam, presses the middle beam toward the lower beam by expanding the space between the upper beam and the middle beam, and a release position that releases the pressing. And a cam that is rotatably provided between,
In the middle beam, a contact portion that comes into contact with an electrode formed on an upper surface of a wiring board disposed between the middle beam and the lower beam is formed on a proximal side from the pressing position of the cam ,
The middle beam end is folded back to the proximal side and located on the upper beam side,
The connector is characterized in that the cam presses the folded tip end portion of the middle beam toward the lower beam . The connector according to claim 1 ,
The middle stage beam is formed with a middle stage movement restricting part that regulates movement of the cam between the upper stage beam and the middle stage beam.
A connector characterized by that. The connector according to claim 2 ,
The middle stage movement restricting portion includes a portion that narrows the interval between the middle stage beam and the upper stage beam at a position farther from the base end of the middle stage beam than the cam than the minimum diameter of the cam.
A connector characterized by that. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The upper stage beam is formed with an upper stage movement restricting part that regulates movement of the cam between the upper stage beam and the middle stage beam.
A connector characterized by that. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
And further comprising another terminal integrally comprising an upper beam, a middle beam and a lower beam extending in three stages from the common base,
The cam is also located between the upper beam and the middle beam of the other terminal, and in the pressing position, the cam is pushed and spread between the upper beam and the middle beam of the other terminal. To the lower beam side of the other terminal,
The intermediate beam of the other terminal has a contact portion in contact with another electrode formed on the upper surface of the wiring board disposed between the middle beam and the lower beam of the other terminal. Formed on the tip side of the pressing position,
A connector characterized by that.

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